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Friday, October 14, 2011

For Mr. Matzo Ball's birthday, we went to Ed's Chowder House.This is one of the birthdays that I look forward to every year. Why? Because I don't have to pick the place. I just sit back and enjoy the dinner. Sometimes it's nice to not be the social planner of your group.

As we sat and looked over the menu, we nibbled on the bread. Soft and fluffy.

After we ordered and made a toast to our dear friend, the starters arrived. I had the chowder trio ($13) which comes as a sampler of the 3 chowders offered that day. The portion size of each chowder was very generous. I would say these were about mug sized cups. The 3 chowders were summer corn with fried leeks, New England style clam chowder, and Manhattan style blue crab chowder. The summer corn chowder was dotted with some popcorn which I thought it was cute. In terms of flavor, it was a little lackluster. It didn't taste enough of corn and I would have liked more cream in it. The Manhattan blue crab chowder was quite nice. I found large pieces of crab in it. The flavor was tomato based which made it tangy. It also had a slight spice which was very nice. The New England clam chowder was just as I thought any good clam chowder would be. Clean yet creamy. Lots of seafood flavor without tasty fishy. I was glad I left it for last to try.

I didn't try anyone else's dishes through the night so I won't comment on them. But I'll show you the pictures anyway.

Spicy steamed clams with sourdough croutons ($14).

Scallop ravioli with white wine sauce and herbs ($16)

New England Clam Chowder ($13). A big ol' pot of it. This serving was HUGE.

And now the entrees: Golden snapper with olive oil crushed new potatoes, herb pesto, and baby fennel ($28).

For myself, I had the Montauk wild striped bass with braised fennel, roasted red peppers, black olives, and grilled baby artichokes. The serving was again very generous. The fish's skin was very crispy which I very much enjoyed. The flesh was flaky, soft, and moist. The fish was very nicely prepared. The accompanying vegetables were nice as well with the olives adding a brininess and the rest a freshness. I enjoyed this dish.

The great thing about having seafood is that it isn't as filling and could have room for dessert. This was certainly the case for us. We ordered a variety. Each one was $9. This is the dark chocolate pudding. It was thick and creamy. I liked it because it wasn't super sweet.

This is the lemon meringue cake which was nice and light but sweet enough to make it a dessert. This was a really nice way to end the meal.

The blueberry hazelnut crisp was just okay for me. Not bad, not great. Just okay.

The trio of ice cream was strawberry, honey ricotta, and ginger caramel. I liked them and the flavors were quite interesting. But as usual, my favorite was strawberry.

And the vanilla banana creme pie for the birthday boy. What a sight! What a treat! This is definitely for people who enjoy bananas and sweet desserts. Really decadent.

The food at Ed's Chowder House was okay. Nothing spectacular but not bad at all. I left satisfied and happy with my experience there. I wouldn't go jumping for joy to go there again but I wouldn't turn down another meal either.